Good Morning! 10 Years Ago Today A President Rallied The Troops At Fort Hood

Good morning, it’s Thursday, Jan. 3, the third day of 2013. There are 362 days left in the year. Temperatures will be in the upper 20s at the start of the day and wind chill readings could be as low as 19 in the morning. Afternoon highs will only be in the lower 40s and lows overnight be in the lower 30s. There’s a slight chance of light snow overnight, but if snow does fall, accumulations will be light and likely only on grassy areas and elevated surfaces such as bridges and overpasses.

On January 3, 2003—10 years ago today--President George W. Bush took a brief break from his two-week vacation and visited Fort Hood, where he rallied troops as the nation faced the prospect of war with Iraq.

“Ft. Hood and the units that call it home have a special place in our country's military history,” he told the troops.

“For decades, soldiers from the First Team and the Iron Horse Division, and from other units, have fought America's battles with distinction and courage. Now you're called again into action, to defend America and the cause of freedom in the first war of the 21st century.

“For this country, and for our friends around the world who love freedom like we do, the stakes are great. The terrorists have shown what they intend for us. And we're not going to forget.

“We're not going to forget the fact that they kill without regard for the rules of war. They don't value innocent life like we do. In America, we say everybody is precious, everybody counts. Everybody is equal in the eyes of the Almighty.

“That's not the way the enemy thinks. They don't value innocent life. They're nothing but a bunch of cold-blooded killers, and that's the way we're going to treat them,” he said.

Today's Highlight in Local History:On January 3, 1995, Martha Jane Trudo was sworn in as 264th State District Court Judge in Bell County, the first female district judge in the county’s history.

Today's Highlight in History:On Jan. 3, 1938, the March of Dimes campaign to fight polio was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who himself had been afflicted with the crippling disease.

On This Date:In 1521, Pope Leo X excommunicated Martin Luther from the Roman Catholic Church. In 1777, Gen. George Washington's army routed the British in the Battle of Princeton, N.J. In 1861, more than two weeks before Georgia seceded from the Union, the state militia seized Fort Pulaski at the order of Gov. Joseph E. Brown. The Delaware House and Senate voted to oppose secession from the Union. In 1868, the Meiji Restoration re-established the authority of Japan's emperor and heralded the fall of the military rulers known as shoguns. In 1911, the U.S. Post Office opened the first postal savings banks. (The banks were abolished in 1966.) In 1949, in a pair of rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court said that states had the right to ban closed shops. In 1959, Alaska became the 49th state as President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a proclamation. In 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower announced the United States was formally terminating diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba. In 1967, Jack Ruby, the man who shot and killed accused presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, died in a Dallas hospital. In 1980, a former employee killed conservationist Joy Adamson, author of “Born Free,” in northern Kenya. In 1990, ousted Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega surrendered to U.S. forces, 10 days after taking refuge in the Vatican's diplomatic mission. In 1993, President George H.W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed the START II missile-reduction treaty in Moscow. (However, the agreement ultimately fell apart.)

Ten years ago: David Westerfield, the man who'd kidnapped and murdered 7-year-old neighbor Danielle van Dam, was sentenced to death by a judge in San Diego. No. 2 Ohio State won its first championship in 34 years, beating No. 1 Miami 31-24 in the Fiesta Bowl.

Five years ago: Sen. Barack Obama won Democratic caucuses in Iowa, while Mike Huckabee won Republican caucuses. After nearly 27 years in prison, Texas inmate Charles Chatman was set free by a judge because of new DNA evidence showing he'd been wrongly convicted of rape. Pop star Britney Spears was hospitalized after a child custody dispute with ex-husband Kevin Federline resulted in an hours-long standoff with police. The No. 8 Kansas Jayhawks won the Orange Bowl by defeating No. 5 Virginia Tech 24-21.

One year ago: The Iowa Republican Party held its caucuses; although Mitt Romney was originally considered the winner by an extremely narrow eight-vote margin, officials later said that Rick Santorum had in fact beaten Romney by 34 votes; however, the party refused to declare a winner, saying that eight precincts had never turned in certified results. In the Democratic caucuses, President Barack Obama ran unopposed.

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